


Daniel in Babylon

by quercus



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-08-25
Updated: 2001-08-25
Packaged: 2017-10-05 12:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quercus/pseuds/quercus





	Daniel in Babylon

"Well, this is boring," Jack announced the instant they stepped through the event horizon. He looked around at the desolate plain in which the stargate had been situated; why here? he wondered. Boring.

"The UAV indicated the inhabitants were located approximately ten clicks in that direction," Carter said, peering at her instrumentation and pointing. About eleven o'clock from the stargate.

"Six miles," Jack translated for Daniel, who was fussing with his sunglasses. "Wear your hat, not that bandanna," he added. "It's too hot out."

"Yes, mother," Daniel said, but Jack didn't think he was really annoyed.

"Teal'c, you, too."

Teal'c eyed Jack suspiciously, his mouth pulled down even more than the usual Jaffa frown, but obediently pulled the floppy hat from its ties on his leg. Personally, Jack thought they all looked like idiots in those hats, but they did keep the sun off more effectively than anything else, and it was a hot day here on Planet Boring.

The track from the stargate to the nearest town wasn't very much used, Jack could tell. He glanced at his chronometer; they should arrive around in about two hours. He didn't plan to push them very hard; in this heat, they needed to stop for breaks.

The track meandered a bit; Carter kept stopping them to compare the terrain with the images sent back by the UAV, making sure they were on course. Each time, Jack bullied his team into drinking a bit more water, even though Daniel complained about the resultant need to piss on every bush between the stargate and the town. "Good for your kidneys," was all Jack would say, remembering bad times when he didn't have enough fluid to piss, and when he'd had to drink the piss he could produce. Not gonna tell Danny about those days, though.

They came to a steep hill and had to stumble their way down it, pushing through scratchy bushes with tiny leaves that gave no shade whatsoever. However, at the bottom of the hill, the track met up with a wide road. A real road. "Halt," Jack called, and made sure Daniel was back a bit before he stepped out onto the road. He stared down at it. Stone. Like the Roman roads he'd seen in Europe. Well made, with no grass growing between the squarish stones set so carefully together. He looked both ways, but saw nothing, just a shimmering haze in the distance.

"Okay." He waved them down. "Keep your eyes and ears open. You see anybody, we get off this road ASAP. Got it?"

"But Jack," Daniel said, predictably. "We're here to meet the local inhabitants. Isn't hiding from them a contradiction?"

"We'll meet them, Daniel. Just on our own terms, okay? Drink some more water before we get started."

That effectively shut Daniel up for a bit, Jack saw, pleased with his subterfuge, until he saw Daniel eyeing him suspiciously over his water bottle and realized Daniel knew exactly what he'd done. Working with geniuses was hard.

"This is a well-used road," Daniel said after he'd tucked the water bottle back in place. "I mean, look at it. There should be a lot of people walking along it. Or vehicles. Something."

"Daniel Jackson is correct," Teal'c said. "There are depressions in the stone from footsteps. Many people have traveled this way."

"So, where are they now?" Carter asked, but no one could answer. Jack kept turning around, making sure no one was coming up behind them. The road was nearly perfectly straight, reminding him even more of the Roman road system. The land here was a little more hilly than where the stargate had been placed, but still relatively level. On the opposite side of the road from the stargate, the land had started to slowly rise; Jack wondered if he should take the time to climb one of the hills for a better view.

It was hot. The white stones reflected the glare of the sun, and Jack was getting a little headache. He drank more water, and tugged at Daniel's belt, indicating he should do the same. This time, he drank without complaining, and poured a little over his head, then put his hat back on. Jack remembered that Daniel had grown up in the desert; maybe he could stop worrying about him so much.

Naw.

"I've been thinking," Daniel said a while later. Jack glanced at his chronometer; they'd been walking for over an hour. Time for a break. He held up his hand, then gestured to the side of the road. They scrambled down from it and sat in the pitiful shade of one of the scrubby bushes.

"Yeah?" Jack asked finally, since Daniel hadn't continued.

"Yeah. About why we aren't seeing anyone on what is obviously a very well-traveled thoroughfare. I think it must be a holiday. Either we'll find the city or town we're headed to is full of people, or it'll be completely empty."

Jack raised his eyebrows; either all or nothing. Typical SG-1 luck. His protein bar had melted in the heat and he stared at it, curling his lip in disgust. Oh well. Still edible. These things were made to be edible no matter what. "You forgot to say 'religious ceremony,'" Jack said with his mouth full.

"Excuse me?"

"You always say it's because of some religious ceremony. This time you just said holiday."

Daniel stared at him, his own melted protein bar forgotten. "Uh. I don't know, Jack. It very well could be a religious ceremony. Would you like it to be a religious ceremony?"

"No, I'm just saying -- oh, hell, Daniel. Eat your lunch. I was just making an observation, okay?"

Daniel stared at him a few seconds longer, then blinked. "Okay. That's actually a very good observation. A surprisingly good observation. And you're right," and Jack saw he was winding up. "It could be a religious ceremony. That would be interesting to be observe. Otherwise, it could be because of war, I suppose. All the people are away at battle, and the ones left behind afraid to travel. Or it could be nobody lives here anymore."

Jack tuned him out.

After a brief rest, including each of them finding a moment to commune with the bushes, they climbed back onto the road and started the long walk into town. City. Religious center. Whatever it might prove to be.

Because of the heat and the mirror-like mirage of water ahead of them, it took a while for Jack to become aware that he could finally see the city. Or some part of it. He tapped Daniel on the shoulder and pointed. Daniel pulled out his binoculars and stared for a long minute, then passed them to Jack.

What he saw, he eventually realized, was a wall that stretched perpendicular to the road they were on. The same squarish white stones had been set vertically; he thought they might incline slightly inwards, toward the city. Across the road was a large and elaborate gate, that glinted with gold symbols.

"Do you know what they mean?"

Daniel shook his head. "Can't resolve them yet. Maybe when we get closer."

"Still no people around," Carter observed, pulling off her hat to swipe at her sweaty curls.

"Noticed that," Jack agreed, and swung the binoculars to view the landscape around them. Still rolling hills with scruffy bushes. No animals, no birds. Nothing but the hot sun and glaring white of the road. Even the dirt around them was a pale, reflective color, not a rich gold like Abydos.

Jack decided he didn't much like this place.

As they drew nearer the city, Daniel kept peering through the binoculars he'd taken back from Jack. Jack had to keep on hand on the small of his back, to keep him from stumbling. "You figured out what it is yet?"

"A, a gate. But you knew that." He glanced at Jack and gave him a small smile. "You knew that. But it's a really big gate."

"It is. I estimate it's fifteen meters high, about ten meters wide," Sam said.

"There is still no sign of life," Teal'c observed.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, let's keep going. Stay frosty, though."

The gate, Jack saw, was closed. He stared at it, wondering how they'd get over or around it. As far as he could see from either side, the walls circled the city. "Didn't the UAV notice this thing, Carter?"

She shook her head. "Yes, we saw something, but I assumed it would be passable."

Jack looked back at Daniel, who was staring open-mouthed at the structure before them. He walked right up to it and put his right hand palm down against it, then backed up. "Oh my god."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Jack," he twisted to look at Jack, a delighted smile on his face, "Jack, this is the Ishtar Gate. I can't believe it." He walked back up to it and began pointing out features. "Look. Here's the lion, that's the emblem of Ishtar, and here's a bull, and this is the dragon, the *sirrush*."

"Can you read this, Daniel?" Carter asked.

"Yes, it's in Akkadian. This alphabet is called cuneiform. It says " Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the faithful prince appointed by the will of Marduk, the highest of princely princes, beloved of Nabu, of prudent counsel, who has learned to embrace wisdom, who fathomed their divine being and reveres their majesty, the untiring governor, who always takes to heart the care of the cult of Esagila and Ezida and is constantly concerned with the well-being of Babylon and Borsippa, the wise, the humble, the caretaker of Esagila and Ezida, the firstborn son of Nabopolassar, the King of Babylon."

"Marduk," Jack interrupted him. "Wasn't he that really bad Goa'uld who got eaten by that spider thingy?"

"Well, that was the Goa'uld," Daniel pointed out. "It just adopted the persona of the god Marduk, who was quite a protective deity, actually. The rest of the inscription just explains why Nebuchadnezzar built this gate -- the old one was too low in the ground, after he'd repaved the road."

"It's beautiful," Carter said softly, and Jack agreed. Covered in gold filigree, with the strange writing pressed into the soft gold.

"Hey, how come nobody takes samples of this stuff?" he asked, flicking a finger against the gold leave.

"Jack!" Daniel pulled his hand away. "It belongs to the king. No one would steal it."

"You mean it belonged to the king. No kings around here that I can see. Besides, Nebuchadnezzar's in the Bible. Not on this other planet."

"Yeah, you're right. It is pretty odd, to find this here. Maybe it's just a replica. But why?" He stared intently at the gate, as if the inscription would tell him. Jack began poking around, looking for a way in.

"See anything, Teal'c?"

"I do not. However, I believe the angle of the walls is such that we can climb them if we could get a rope across the top."

Jack stared up at the wall. Fifteen meters, Carter had estimated; that was forty-five feet. A long way up. "Quite a wall," he murmured, and Teal'c nodded. Jack pursed his lips, thinking, and then said, "Before we try something that ambitious, let's scout around a bit. Teal'c, you and Carter head off that direction. Daniel and I will go left. Keep in close contact. Daniel."

Daniel followed him reluctantly, twisting to look back at the gleaming door. The road had widened considerably, and there was a roughly paved path at the base of the wall that they took.

The wall curved gently around the city. No graffiti, no scuff marks, nothing but the off-white color, brilliant in the heat of mid-day. Planet Boring was living up to its name.

At last, for something to do, Jack asked Daniel, "Why'd that gate say Nebuchadnezzar? I don't remember much about him."

As Jack had known he would be, Daniel was pleased to launch into a lecture. "There were two Nebuchadnezzars, both kings of Babylon. The second one re-built Babylon into an incredibly beautiful city. He built the Hanging Gardens, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Babylon was a center of trade and politics for centuries. In fact, Babylonian, which was a form of Sumerian, became the lingua franca for the entire region."

"So," Jack drawled, watching his shadow move against the wall, wondering if he was getting fat, "if that was the Ishtar Gate, and if the king is Nebuchadnezzar, does that mean this city is Babylon?"

Daniel smiled at him. "I hope so. Any archaeologist would love to see Babylon."

Jack nodded, and continued looking for some way in. After a few minutes, his radio clicked and hissed at him. "Colonel?"

"Yeah, Carter."

"Teal'c and I think we found something. A cistern or well. Teal'c's climbed down a bit, and he thinks there's a channel that runs under the wall, into the city."

"Don't let him go too far," Jack warned. "Daniel and I will get there as soon as we can."

"Copy. Carter out."

"Come on, Daniel. Looks like we need an archaeologist."

It took them nearly an hour to make their way around the wall to where Carter and Teal'c were waiting for them. Jack couldn't help but notice they were on the shady side of the city. He made sure Daniel drank more water before investigating the find.

"It is sturdily built," Teal'c assured him as they stared into the cistern. Far below, he could hear water running.

"You sure it's not a sewer?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Daniel said, "Jack, if it were a sewer, a cloaca, we'd know it, standing right over it like this." Jack nodded. Yeah, they would. This smelt sweet, and dark. He leaned over the low retaining wall and peered into the depths, using his flashlight. He could see the carved handholds Teal'c had used to climb down.

"How deep you think that water is?"

"I do not know. Nor do I know how fast it is flowing."

Jack tucked his flashlight back into his vest, dropped his pack, and swung a leg over the retaining wall. "I'm going all the way down. You three stay here. Carter, keep an eye out for anybody coming. Teal'c and Daniel, you stand by, in case I need help or see something. I'll describe it to you, Daniel."

Daniel nodded, his eyes wide and face very serious. Jack smiled to himself, and then reached out with his foot to the first outcropping of stone. The climb wasn't difficult. Jack had the feeling someone made it regularly; the stones were clean and cared for, and he could see some had been repaired. There was a little moss on the city side of the cistern; presumably it was cooler and moister on that side. Every now and then he paused to peer down between his feet, but still could see nothing.

The noise of running water grew louder with each step. Soon it became impossible for him to hear his teammates above him, and they had to use the radio to communicate. He felt a little claustrophobic as the sky narrowed to a circle of light about ten feet in diameter, but kept his attention on the handholds he was using to climb down.

Soon water began seeping through the stones, and more moss appeared, even on his side of the cistern. The stones looked different, too. Older, he thought, and wished he had a camera so he could show Daniel. He wondered how he'd get Daniel down here safely, too. But first he'd see where it went.

Suddenly, his right foot had nothing beneath it. He clung to the handhold, breathless, for a moment, then pulled out his flashlight and flicked it on. About two feet beneath him, water glinted back. It ran from directly under him and into the city. It was moving fast, which concerned him. It didn't take a lot of water to knock a man off his feet.

He tilted the flashlight so the beam angled across the cistern. There, the opening for the water going into the city was much larger than the one beneath him, coming from the desert. It seemed to be tall enough to stand in, or at least crouch in. He and Teal'c might have a problem, and maybe Daniel, but he thought Carter, even at her height, would be okay. He couldn't see well, but he thought there were also handholds there, too.

He hung there for a few more minutes. The radio hissed and Daniel's voice said anxiously, "Jack? Jack, are you there?" He clicked the radio, but said nothing, thinking about what to do.

Their mission was to explore other planets to learn which had been infiltrated by the Goa'uld and to bring back alien technologies that would help them fight the Goa'uld. From the little he'd seen, he couldn't tell if Goa'uld were here. Certainly the technology they'd seen didn't suggest it, but they hadn't seen much.

There was no getting around it. They needed to get into the city if they were going to fulfil their mission.

He tucked the flashlight away again, and clicked on the radio. "Okay, kids. Come on down. Take your time. We'll need our packs, but don't wear them down. Hold on a sec." Taking a deep breath, he jumped the last bit into the water. It was cold, but it felt good after the heat of the desert. He staggered a bit; there were loose pebbles and small rocks underfoot, but it seemed stable enough. "Okay. Let's try an experiment. Toss my pack down."

"Jack, no. It'll gain too much momentum. You'll be hurt."

"It's just an experiment, Daniel. Toss it down." He could imagine the furious discussion going on up there, and smiled to himself. Come on, Carter. He could always count on her.

Sure enough, in a moment, she said, "Heads up, sir." He took a step back and peered up, into the light. All too soon his all too heavy pack was flying directly towards him. He deflected it neatly, but couldn't catch it, so it landed in the water. He swung it up instantly and hoped he'd packed well enough that things weren't too badly soaked.

"Good pitch, Carter," he radioed up. He looked around. No place to set the other packs; he'd have to have the last one down toss the others. "Okay, I want Daniel to climb down first. Daniel, take your time. It seems a lot longer than it is, but the handholds are good, and I'll be here to catch you if you fall."

He could imagine the eye-rolling this comment engendered, but after nearly a minute, Daniel said, "Yes, Jack. Should I toss my pack now?"

"No, let Teal'c send it down before he comes. Teal'c, I'd like you to come last. Toss down Carter's and Daniel's packs just before you climb down, okay?"

"I will do so, O'Neill."

"He's starting down, sir," Carter said, and Jack wondered if he could see Daniel swing over the edge of the retaining wall.

"Take your time," he said again, and then waited, arms crossed, head bent back, watching for his teammate.

They all got down safely, of course; Jack had known they would, he told himself as he handed Teal'c's pack to him when he finally jumped into the water. By now, Jack's feet were numb, and Daniel was peering into the tunnel that they hoped would lead them into the city. "Okay," he told them, "let's head out. Stay close. Teal'c, you first. Daniel, with me."

The cistern had only been a few feet from the wall encircling the city, so a few steps into the tunnel they must be passing under it. That gave Jack the creeps, big time; he kept glancing upward, wondering about the weight above them. Daniel was practically pushing Teal'c, so anxious was he to get into the city. Carter kept swinging her flashlight around, trying to examine the structure of the tunnel. To Jack, it just looked like more of the same squarish stones, only smaller, and dark with water and moss.

The air was good, though; no smell of sewage or gasses seeping in. He'd checked his chronometer when Teal'c had reached the bottom of the cistern and found himself glancing at it compulsively. He just wanted out.

"There is a light ahead," Teal'c said, and Jack peered past him. It did seem a bit brighter. They started walking faster, pushing their way through the water. Jack felt frozen; he couldn't believe just a few minutes ago he'd been miserable and sweating.

"It's definitely brighter," Daniel said, and Jack could tell he was looking forward to getting back to ground level as well.

They came to another opening above them, presumably a cistern inside the city walls. For a moment, they stood and looked up. "I can see stars," Carter said quietly. Jack could, too. Then Teal'c pointed out the handholds and they began to climb up, in reverse order: Teal'c first and Jack last.

When Teal'c reached the top, he paused. Jack leaned far out, looking beyond Daniel and Carter to meet Teal'c's eyes. "Be careful," he whispered, and Teal'c nodded regally. Then he looked up again and very cautiously poked his head over the rim. He froze for a long moment, and Jack made sure his handgun was ready. Daniel glanced down at Jack, his brow furrowed in worry, and Jack smiled reassuringly back at him. Then Daniel's eyes tracked to the gun and he shrank against the wall, out of Jack's way. "Good boy," he mouthed. Daniel bit his lip.

Suddenly, Teal'c climbed up and out of the cistern. Jack could see him standing at the edge, then he slowly turned in a circle. He leaned back over and gestured to Carter, who popped up quickly. Daniel followed, and finally Jack was standing in the burning sun again. It felt wonderful.

"Where is everyone?" Daniel asked the universe. Jack turned in a circle, as Teal'c had done. Clean, wide streets; handsome buildings; not a soul in sight.

"Religious ceremony?" he asked, only half joking. "Where to, Daniel?"

Daniel slowly turned in a circle, examining each of the buildings around them. At last he said, "This must be the processional, Babylon's main street. And I think that big building at the end is E-Makh, the temple of Nin-mahk. I think we should start there."

They headed out, Carter leading this time, Teal'c studying the buildings they passed as carefully as Daniel did. Jack watched him mutter to himself as they moved past each deserted structure, each deserted cross-street. "Daniel, who is Nin-mahk?"

"She was the great mother, the personification of the earth's fertility. Actually, she's in a triad, with Enlil, the god of air, and Enki, the god of underground waters."

"So we just walked through Enki. Sounds like one of the Teletubbies. Enki. The one with the purse."

Daniel stared at him before continuing. "Ah, Nin-mahk. Her name means 'exalted lady,' and she's also the goddess of birth, and the mother of all children. A very important person in the Mesopotamian pantheon."

"That why you choose her temple?" Jack asked him.

"Yes, yes. It's second only to the temple of Marduk, but that's a bit farther away. We'll see it later."

Jack shuddered. "Marduk. Not anxious to go there."

"Daniel, what if there're Goa'uld? I mean, won't there be?"

"Well, not necessarily. The Marduk we met was from earth's Babylon. We have no reason to believe the Goa'uld have ever been here."

"There's a chance," Jack said. "I mean, how else would Babylonians even get here, unless the Goa'uld brought them?"

Daniel sucked his lower lip into his mouth and pushed his glasses up. "I don't know."

They walked on, toward the temple of Nin-makh. "If this her temple," Daniel said softly, "we're on the east side of the city, near the gate," which made sense to Jack. He didn't think they'd gone very far.

"How big was Babylon?" he asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Herodotus said it was built in a square, each side about one hundred and twenty furlongs in length. That's about fourteen miles, so one hundred and ninety-six square miles."

"A hundred and ninety-six square miles of city?" Wow. That was a big city, for biblical times. Or so it seemed to Jack. He continued to look around them as they walked toward the temple. The buildings were all white-washed, with zig-zagged walls, as though designed to interlock with each other. The streets were very clean, but not much vegetation. Probably too dry, he thought.

"I hear something," Teal'c announced, and they all stopped, listening intently. Jack heard the breeze moving over the buildings, two and three stories tall, and through the few trees, rustling the palm-like leaves on them. He thought he heard the water beneath them. He looked at Daniel.

"Do you hear anything?"

"Singing," Daniel whispered, and looked at Teal'c, who nodded.

"I hear singing as well, Daniel Jackson."

After nearly a minute, Jack signaled they should move on, and they drew nearer the temple. He could clearly hear the singing now, a mournful sound. Not that he knew anything about music, but it sounded in a minor key to him. And there were a lot of voices. A lot of people. "The entire city must be in there," he whispered to Daniel, who nodded enthusiastically.

Suddenly they realized that the temple was full to overflowing. The wall around it had gates and through the gates, kneeling people could be seen. The courtyard was completely full of people, all facing the main door of the temple. "Must be a high holy day," Daniel said very softly, staring at the crowd.

Jack took them to one side, outside the gate and out of sight of anyone praying there. "Okay, we need a plan. What are we doing here? They gonna kill us the minute they figure out we're here?"

Daniel shook his head. "Babylon was actually a very peaceful place. If Nebuchadnezzar really is king here, we're in a fertile, prosperous time, before the Euphrates turned salty and the topsoil blew away. Wealthy merchants tend to make bad soldiers; war is bad for business."

"That sounded suitably cynical," Jack commented, checking his P90. "Still need a plan."

"Let's wait until the service or whatever is over and then introduce ourselves."

Jack looked up from his weapon. "To all these people? Uh, what kind of religion do they practice?"

"Well, an animistic one. They thought that every object had its zi, or spirit. There were many gods worshipped. Marduk, of course, and Nin-makh, Enki, Enlil. They sacrificed calves and occasionally full-grown cows."

"People?"

"There's nothing in the record about sacrificing humans. Really, their inscriptions were all about peace, about building roads or gates or irrigation canals. Nothing like the Assyrians, who were all about war."

"Cheering. And based on this speculation, about a civilization how many thousands of years old? That has suddenly reappeared on a different planet, you think we should just march in and say hi."

"Yes, Jack, I do. At least let me march in and say hi."

"What, so I can save your ass one more time? Why don't we try something new and just not put your ass in danger?"

"We need to meet these people, talk to them, if we're going to carry out our orders."

"As if you ever cared about orders."

"Jack."

"Daniel."

"Jack, let me go in. You guys can watch out for me."

"Watch you get cooked for lunch, you mean. How can the three of us take on that entire city?"

"You won't have to."

"You think."

"I *know* so. Honest."

The two men stared at each other. Jack was very aware of his teammates' attention, of the sun pounding on his cap, the noise of the city's communal prayers. He glanced at Carter and Teal'c, who each looked imperturbable.

"Okay," he finally said. "But we all go."

They stood with their backs to a crenellated wall, warm in the afternoon sun. Jack was sweating, and not just from the heat. The city was dazzling in its freshly white-washed glory; all cleaned up to celebrate some holiday. Religious ceremony. He hoped Planet Boring would live up to its name.

When the service or ceremony or whatever was ended and people began standing up and talking to each other, Daniel nudged him. Jack rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses, took a deep breath, and stepped out, Daniel literally bumping into him in his excitement. Behind Daniel came Teal'c, looking appropriately somber, and Carter took the rear, gun at the ready. Four against Babylon, he thought, and smiled wryly. Isn't that always the way.

They strode through the elaborate gate into the temple grounds, and as if a pebble had been tossed into a pond, a circle of curious excitement spread around them. To his relief, no one screamed and ran away, and no one leaped out at them with weapons. They just looked, and whispered to each other, and pointed, and backed up a bit.

Finally, the tumult reached inside the temple, and a tall handsome man in elaborate robes, much finer than the robes Daniel had worn on Abydos, moved regally through the crowd to them. As he passed, the men and women bowed their heads; when they raised their eyes, they looked proudly at him. He stood very straight, military straight, but looked only interested, not threatening. They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he said a few words. His voice was deep and, although quiet, carried into the crowd.

Another pause, and then Daniel stepped forward and said something, introducing himself, Jack knew, when he heard him say "Daniel." The other man, the priest or whoever, looked sharply at Daniel, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Daniel," he said clearly. "Belteshazzar."

Daniel smiled shyly.

"Daniel?"

He looked back at Jack. "Um, this is the king of this city. Nebuchandnezzar. He knows about the prophet Daniel."

"Who's Belts-him-one?"

"Well, me. Kind of. It was Nebuchadnezzar's name for Daniel. It means 'preserve thou his life.'"

Jack raised his eyebrows. "That's a good name. I like that name."

"Well, yeah."

"I know the story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar," Teal'c said suddenly, and Jack remembered that Teal'c had read the Old and New Testaments. "Daniel was a scholar from Jerusalem, taken by Nebuchadnezzar to live in Babylon. He told great truths and revealed the meaning of dreams."

"Ye-es," Daniel said slowly, the delight dying from his eyes. "And he was thrown into a pit of lions, but God saved him."

"No lions," Jack said decisively, eyeing the king with some concern. "What's he want? What language is that?"

"Well, I assume it's Babylonian, but I don't know. It's kind of a melange of several mid-eastern languages. A little Arabic, a little Hebrew, I think. And some ancient Egyptian."

Nebuchadnezzar said something else, drawing Daniel's attention from Jack and back to him. They spoke for a few more minutes, and then Daniel introduced Jack and the others. Nebuchadnezzar stared at Jack, not with hostility, or even much curiosity, but just examining him. Daniel said, "I've explained to him that you're our leader. He asks if you're a king, too."

"What ya tell him?"

Daniel looked soberly at him and then smiled. "Of course you're a king." Jack distinctly heard Carter snicker behind him, but didn't deign to look at her.

"Cool."

The king spoke some more, and Daniel smiled at him. "He's invited us to his, uh, home. Palace. Not sure of the term. Quarters, maybe."

"Let's walk with him. Ask him about the Goa'uld."

Of course, it was a lot more complicated than that, Jack discovered. After all, he was a king, even if only of this piddly ass city on Planet Boring. His robes were nice, but nothing like what Jack thought a king should wear. Certainly not what he would wear if he really were a king.

King John the First, he thought, half smiling to himself and he tried to eavesdrop on Daniel and the king. Who was clearly quite taken with Daniel. Eventually, some sort of bodyguard or group of retainers formed around the king, people made their obeisances or whatever, and they slowly left the temple and walked along the procession, the main street of Babylon. The crowd followed, splitting off at side streets or opening the buildings they passed. Some proved to be businesses, others homes. All had been cleaned within an inch of their lives.

"What holiday is this, anyway?" Jack asked during a lull in Daniel and Nebuchandnezzar's conversation.

After a few minutes discussion, Daniel said, "For Nin-makh, goddess of fertility. One of their most important goddesses, he tells me. He says the land is harsh, and they must work hard to live here. Nin-makh grants them rain and, well, I'm not sure, but I think he means, uh, manure. Fertilizer. Something to make the crops grow."

"The goddess of shit?" Jack asked, but Daniel knew him well enough to ignore him.

As they walked, Jack studied the people around them. A little shabby, maybe, compared to what he thought Babylon should be. Wasn't it supposed to be a city of luxury? The streets were clean, the buildings impressive, but the masses of people surrounding them were dressed in simple robes. More elaborate than on Abydos, yes, and certainly more colorful. Brocade, he thought the material might be called, a sort of tapestry effect. Pleasing. But still, shabby. Not new. Not dirty, but not new.

The crowd thinned a bit by the time they'd reached the palace, which really was a palace to Jack's eyes, but there were still an awful lot of folks milling around. Some paying close attention to them, others not caring so much. Once they'd entered through the enormous white gates, topped by towers twice as tall as the Ishtar Gate, a few people stayed outside. Most came in, and then spread out.

"Who are all these people?" Jack asked when he could get a word in edgewise.

"Um, retainers. Servants. Family. He has six wives and many children. I don't know the word he's using, but I think it's a lot. All their servants and teachers and retainers."

"Looks like half the city lives here."

"Yes. Yes, it does. Odd, isn't it." Daniel looked around him, studying the grounds and the people milling through it. He asked the king something else, but he only smiled and gestured: Come on. Come on. So still they followed, walking up a long flight of wide steps, made of brick, Jack thought, and of course painted white. Low shrubby bushes grew in brick planters at each side, the same shrubby bush they'd found outside the walls of the city. Only a few people followed them up the steps, but more met them at the top. Wives and children, Jack thought, observing them. Daniel was in the thick of it, being introduced by the king and chatting up the locals.

"The king has invited us to stay here while we visit his city. He's giving us our own quarters. Actually," and Daniel looked a bit abashed at this, "he's giving us our own servants, too, to look after us. And we're to have dinner with him tonight, celebrating Nin-Makh." He looked at Jack expectantly.

Jack thought about it, once again eyeing the king suspiciously. "Dinner, hunh. The odds he'll poison us?"

"Ja-ack."

"Okay. Tell him thank you, we'll be there."

"Thank you, Jack. I really want to attend this dinner."

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, anything about the Goa'uld?"

"Oh. Uh, forgot to ask. I'll do it right now." But he couldn't. They were led to the left, through an enormous arched opening and through a long barrel-vaulted hallway. Everything was certainly large here, Jack thought, staring upwards at the ornate but faded decorations in each vault. Everything was on the scale of the Ishtar Gate, designed, he thought, to make humans feel small and vulnerable.

Jack really hated being made to feel small and vulnerable.

The hallway opened up on their left to a large garden also walled, with a central fountain playing. Unlike the rest of the city and surrounding desert, this was a green place. Not many flowers, and a lot of the greenery looked sharp and spiky, but green and soothing to the eye after the miles of white-washed brick and stone they'd been subjected to. Jack slowed a bit to look out into it, and one of the attendants with them spoke.

"He says this is our private garden," Daniel translated, looking pleased and surprised. "We may use it at any time. There are, uh, pools, I think, for bathing. Or maybe swimming. I'm not sure which."

Jack instantly decided it would be a cold day in Babylon before he'd go naked outside the palace, but just nodded.

The walls rose around them again, but the entourage stopped, and Daniel was gestured into his quarters, the others following.

"Wow," he said, and turned to Jack. "Is this for all of us?" Jack shrugged, and Daniel looked to the man who'd spoken earlier and asked him. Presumably, he asked him. After a brief exchange, he said, "Ah. Just for me. Each of you will have your own rooms." He turned slowly in a circle, looking at the place, and Jack did the same. Big rooms, of course, and hallways leading to other rooms. A patio opening into the gardens beyond, with long gauzy curtains dimming the harsh light of this world. Low couch-like things, sedans, maybe they were called, and sconces on the wall. A small fountain in the corner. Everything richly colored in faded golds and greens and reds.

"Nice," Jack said, and Daniel nodded. "But I don't like the idea of separating us. This looks big enough for four, don't you think? Carter? Teal'c?" His team nodded, as he'd known they would, and Daniel spoke again to their guide, who clearly was unhappy.

"Jack, maybe you guys should just go to your rooms and then we'll meet back here. You don't have to stay there."

Jack thought for a moment. Carter looked a bit nonplused, her eyes wide as she studied the dozen or so Babylonians accompanying them. Teal'c, of course, looked his usual imperturbable self.

"Okay," Jack said. "That's the plan. We'll go to our rooms like good kids, and then as soon as we shake these goons, meet back here. Keep your weapons at the ready and fire a shot if anything suspicious happens. The ceiling can take it."

Carter took a deep breath. "Colonel, if I may." He nodded. "I think you should stay with Daniel, and I'll stay with Teal'c."

"Well, that would be nice, Major, and I'm all for it, but Daniel seems to feel that would cause more problems than it's worth."

"Not if they think we're lovers," Daniel blurted out. Jack felt his eyes pop.

Teal'c said, "I agree with Daniel Jackson and Major Carter. We should not let them separate us. They will believe the pairing."

Daniel swallowed loudly enough that Jack heard him. "How do you propose we convince them of that?" he asked. Daniel looked at Carter.

"Just tell them. Why wouldn't they believe us?"

Jack sighed, deeply. The things he had to do as a commanding officer sometimes stunned him; this was one of the things. At last he said, "Tell them, Daniel." Daniel peered at him through his glasses, and for a moment, he was forcefully reminded of the Daniel he'd met nearly six years ago, long sun-bleached hair in his eyes and a slight stutter. "Daniel."

"It's just that I don't think they'll believe you. About us, I mean." Jack stared back at Daniel, sighed again, and stepped nearer, putting his hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"This better?"

After a few seconds, Daniel spoke again to their guide, who frowned and looked at the others waiting on them. Finally, he nodded, and motioned at Teal'c and Carter, who, with a last glance for Jack and Daniel, followed the group out.

Four Babylonians remained, two men and two women, smiling shyly at them. "What do they want?" Jack murmured, stepping nearer to Daniel, trying to convey something with his body language.

"Uh, they're our servants."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Danny. Send 'em away. Tell 'em we wanna get it on or something."

Daniel turned brilliant red, and stammered a bit, but the people smiled. Then they stepped forward and began patting at their clothes and pack. "Daniel."

"It's okay, Jack. They just want to show us around, help us get comfortable." Someone's hands found the clips to Jack's pack, and it fell to the ground, and then one of the men lifted it while the other removed Daniel's pack. Jack clutched his P90 tightly, but they seemed uninterested in it. He and Daniel followed the men down a hallway into another large room that had an even larger patio. A bedroom.

The men put the packs carefully away, against the wall at the head of the bed. A large comfortable-looking bed, low, swathed in many thin layers of sheer material in many colors, and mounded with pillows of all sizes and shapes, covered in the same fabrics. One of the women stepped into the patio and gestured; Jack saw their bathroom was actually outdoors. Great. So much for his plan not to get naked in Babylon.

The bathtub did look inviting, he admitted to himself, as he gazed into it, Daniel at his side. "Tell me they're not going to give us baths," he murmured, and Daniel blushed again.

They heard noises in the other room and turned to see even more attendants arrive, these carrying platters of food. Fresh fruit, Jack thought, and bread and little pots of something. Maybe butter or cheese. They placed the platters on a low table by yet another fountain, and then everyone left. The guy Daniel had been talking to said something, bowed, and then they were gone.

Jack strolled over to the table and bent down, inspecting the goods. "Think we can eat this?"

"I hope so. You know my feelings about MREs."

Jack picked at a grape-like thing. It was firm, and smelt sweet. He licked the surface cautiously, waited a minute, and then popped it in his mouth. A burst of juice flavored his mouth like a peach. He offered one to Daniel, who stared at him, and then ate it. "Good," he said indistinctly, and Jack agreed.

They sat down in front of the fountain and began to eat. "I hope Carter and Teal'c are getting the same treatment."

"They are. Besides, they'll be here soon," Daniel reassured him.

"I'm not saving any for them." Daniel tossed one of the peach-grapes at Jack, who caught it expertly in his mouth.

"Oh, that's very good, Jack. How many years of practice have you devoted to that?"

"Prick."

The bread was good, too, and the little pots of spreadable somethings were tasty. Creamy and peppery, and one with an onion-flavor. It was a good meal, and Jack was hungrier than he realized.

There was a pitcher of something, and squat tumblers of blue glass, so he poured out a little and sniffed it suspiciously, then held it out to Daniel. "What do you think this is?"

Daniel sniffed it, too, then took the glass and sipped at it. "Water." Jack took back the glass and drank as well. Just water. He poured more for himself and a glass for Daniel. "Thanks. This is better than being here alone. I'd be, uh, nervous. Alone. You know."

"Yeah. I know."

When they'd finished their meal, they walked out onto the patio. Jack realized the fountain was for more than the pleasant sound it made; there were thin and scratchy towels folded on one of the ledges, so he stuck his hands in the water and splashed his face, finally plunging his entire head under water. "Whew. That feels good," he told Daniel, drying himself, and watched as Daniel did the same.

"I like it here," Daniel said, scrubbing at his hair so it stuck up in spikes. "I hope the Goa'uld haven't been here. But I don't think these people have any technology we could use."

Jack shook his head, looking around at their quarters. "Naw. Looks like they're on an economic downturn, to me." Daniel yawned. "Lie down, Daniel. No, go ahead. I'll keep watch." Daniel looked longingly at the bed behind them. "Go to sleep."

Daniel smiled at Jack, and pushed through the curtains into the deeper shade of the bedroom. Jack watched him as he pulled off his boots and hat and undid the top button of his trousers. Then he lay down, first on his back, and then rolling onto his side, facing away from the light. He drew his knees up and sighed. Jack smiled. He sat down and leaned his back against the wall of the fountain behind him.

Daniel slept for nearly thirty minutes. Jack let himself slip into that Zen state of not-thinking that he found comforting and restful; years of practice had taught him to recover and regroup in strange situations, and sitting on another planet watching Daniel sleep definitely fell into the category of strange. When Daniel sighed and rolled to face Jack, he felt as if he'd slept some, too.

"Where're Sam and Teal'c?" Daniel asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"Probably catching some zees themselves. When you're awake, let's go find out."

Daniel stretched, and then sat up and began putting himself together again. Before he'd risen from the bed, though, the man who'd guided them there earlier entered the bedroom, bowing deeply. He looked sharply at Jack, still sitting on the patio, and then spoke at some length to Daniel.

"Nebuchadnezzar wants to meet with me, Jack."

Jack's knees creaked as he rose and stretched, too. "Okay. Will Carter and Teal'c be there, too?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not you, either. Just me."

"Not gonna happen." He stared fiercely at the messenger, who ducked his head while Daniel spoke rapidly to him. He bowed again, and backed out of the room, then waited for them. "Come on, Daniel. Put your shoes on and let's go."

While Daniel dressed, Jack called Carter on the radio. "Someone just brought us something to eat," her voice crackled back.

"Neb wants to meet with Daniel and me --"

"Neb, sir?"

"Uh, Nebba -- the king. Guy we met at the temple. We'll meet when we get back."

"Yes, sir. Um, it's Nebuchandnezzar, sir."

"Yeah, yeah. In a few, Carter."

"Yes, sir."

Jack looked up to find Daniel smiling at him. "Ready to meet his highness, Daniel?"

They walked a long way through this palace of Nebuchandnezzar's. Acres of cool tile beneath their feet, the colors worn away by all the feet that had trod there. Even the freshly white-washed walls couldn't hide the depressions made by generations of hands catching to turn a corner or for balance at a step up. Other gardens were visible through large arched openings, some very intimate, others large and impenetrable, and one a round lawn surrounding a fountain. Finally, they reached a more inhabited part of the palace, and for the first time, Jack saw people moving about their duties, carrying things, washing the floor, trimming the dusty bushes.

When he nearly knocked Daniel over, he looked up to find the king watching them. He wasn't in a throne, which part of Jack had been kind of hoping for, but on another sedan. He'd changed clothes and was wearing lighter-weight robes, a deep red fading to rose. Daniel bowed, and Jack followed his example, keeping his eye on the people surrounding them. No obvious weapons, nothing unfriendly at all. Except he'd wanted to see Daniel alone.

Some of the retainers came forward, offering them cups of something. Daniel took one and nodded at Jack, who took another and sniffed it. More water? Daniel looked at the king, who pointed at the mounds of cushions on the floor at his feet. Oh, crap. Crouching at the feet of this guy didn't put Jack in any strategic position he wanted, but he followed Daniel's lead and cautiously lowered himself into a cross-legged position. For a moment, Jack was reminded of Kheb, but that only reminded him of everything that Daniel had lost, and he turned his attention back to the moment.

Daniel and the king were speaking easily to each other; as usual, Daniel's skill at linguistics permitted him to communicate with almost anyone. Such a shmoozer for such a shy guy, Jack thought, and sipped his water, continuing to study their surroundings. Still nothing overtly threatening that Jack could see. No one even carried a staff or knife. Some of the retainers were big guys, but some were smaller than Carter, and many were women, also of varying builds.

The worst enemy that Jack could see was the desert and the heat. Even though it was obvious that the entire city had been cleaned to celebrate the holiday, dust was sifting in through the open windows and arches, piling in corners and discoloring the beautiful fabrics hung everywhere. Even the water tasted flat.

Suddenly the king leaned forward and put his hand on Daniel's strong forearm. Jack sat up, ready to intervene. Daniel was blushing again, but didn't pull away. "Ne-neh," he said, and Jack remembered that that meant "no" in Abydonian.

"Daniel?"

"It's okay, Jack."

"I'm sure it is. But what did this guy ask you?"

Daniel blushed harder. "Nothing."

"Daniel."

"Really, nothing."

"Not nothing."

"Yes, nothing."

"Not."

"Yes."

They glared at each other, and Jack was pleased how easily he'd been able to manipulate Daniel into their old pattern of speaking to each other. Daniel realized it at the same moment, and shook his head. "It's just embarrassing, Jack. I told him no, and he's accepted it. Can't we leave it at that?"

Jack thought, then said, "No. Let me be the judge of its significance."

Daniel sighed. "He asked me to, uh, sleep with him. He says it's one of the holiest days in their calendars, and the fact that I arrived today, and that I'm Daniel, beloved of Nebuchandnezzar, means I can, I'm here to. Uh, that if we. Anyway, it has to do with improving the fertility of the land and people."

Jack stared at him and then at the king, who was markedly unembarrassed. "Daniel, I thought we were pretending to be lovers, and that's why we're sharing a room." Daniel nodded. "Then why would he ask that? Tell him I'm a jealous bastard, and that I don't share with anyone, for any reason."

"Uh, I already did." Jack wasn't sure he was pleased with that information.

"Is he still pushing you?"

"No, Jack."

"Are you in any danger?"

"No. I don't think so."

Jack looked at his teammate, who was biting his lip and not appearing as confident as Jack would have liked. "Is he going to rape you?"

"No! Jack, no, honest." He hesitated and then said, "It would, uh, go the other way around. For the fertility." He paused again and then said, "I would need to fertilize the field. Plow the ground, so to speak."

Jack raised his eyebrows; boy, was this too much information for a commanding officer. But comforting news, in a creepy way. "You don't have any plans, to . . . "

"No! Jesus, Jack." Daniel glared at him, and Jack was relieved to have diverted his mood from embarrassment to anger. An angry Daniel was a force to be reckoned with; an embarrassed Daniel could be manipulated by almost anyone.

"So. Any Goa'uld?"

For an instant Daniel just sat there, and then he turned back to the king and began speaking rapidly. Jack was amazed at Daniel's fluidity in acquiring new languages, or dialects, he supposed, simultaneously annoyed and pleased at his own pedantry. After several minutes discussion, Daniel turned back to Jack, shaking his head. "He claims no. None of their gods has glowing eyes or demands the kind of tribute the Goa'uld tend to. Nor has he ever seen any of the Goa'uld weapons I describe.

"In fact, he seemed puzzled by the entire notion. I think these people are unrelated to the ones taken by Ra. Besides, worship of Ra on earth came much later than Babylon. In fact, Ishtar became Hathor, the daughter of Ra."

"Hathor. That's not good."

"Yes, I mean, no, but she'd changed a lot in the intervening millennia. Became a goddess of war, rather than fertility."

"Seems to me that Hathor was pretty much the goddess of fertility, too."

"Well, yes. Sex, drugs, and rock and roll, as you said. But different. Really different from Ishtar."

Jack sighed; it was hard keeping all these gods and goddesses straight. "Wait a minute. Let me think. You met Nem, who wanted his mate Omaroca. She'd been killed by Bella --"

"By Bellos."

"Bellos, whom you think was a Goa'uld. And then Ishtar became Hathor, who was a Goa'uld, too. So how come these people don't know Goa'ulds?"

Daniel looked into space, obviously thinking hard. "All I can think of is the timing. That someone else took them before the Goa'uld came. Maybe because the Goa'uld were coming."

The king very clearly said, "Omaroca."

They both twisted to face him. Daniel said something in a questioning tone, with the word "Omaroca" repeated. The king began to speak. At last, thought Jack, and stretched his legs out in front of him.

"Okay. This is interesting, Jack. They know of Omaroca. They say she saved them from the ending of the world. That after Marduk killed Tiamat and used the two halves of her corpse to create the heavens and the earth, they were among the first people made. Omaroca brought them here, where they wouldn't suffer the anger of the gods."

"The anger of the gods."

"Yeah." The two men studied each other. "Suggestive, isn't it."

"So they don't know the Goa'uld because --"

"Because Omaroca took them away before Ra reached earth.

Jack's back hurt. His butt hurt. His knees ached, and his left foot was going numb, but he didn't want to interrupt whatever was going on. He wiggled his foot, and stretched, hearing his vertebrae pop. He wondered if it would be rude to lie down, and decided it would. "Daniel, I need to stand up, walk around a bit. Would that be okay with his highness here?"

Daniel asked, and the king gestured expansively: up, up. Two men helped Jack stand, which pissed him off a bit. "I'm just going to stretch my legs a minute. No plowing the fields while I'm gone, okay?"

Daniel ignored him and went back to his discussion with the king.

Jack wondered where Carter and Teal'c were. It had been hours since he'd last seen them. He wandered down the hallway they'd come up, stopping to lean out over a low retaining wall and look into one of the gardens they'd passed. To his surprise, someone was hanging sheets out to dry in the sun; they moved in the slow wind like sheets on a sluggish sailboat. Someone else was singing, a melancholic sound in the heat of the afternoon. He again noticed the sand trickling from the sill onto the floor at his feet. What a dump this would be in a few more years. Took a lot of work to maintain something this size. He'd be willing to bet their problems with fertility stemmed from the irrigation canals they'd seen walking through the city. Probably over-salinization of the soil.

He pushed off from the wall, dusting his hands, and continued to look for his teammates. He thought he recognized his and Daniel's entry way and went past it, looking for something similar. Toward the end of the hallway, on the opposite side, was another opening. He stuck his head in and called, "Kids? Anybody home?"

There was a soft moan, and he froze. What kind of moan? Were Carter and Teal'c pretending to be lovers? Were they lovers? Did he want to know? Theoretically, he didn't approve of the idea of teammates becoming sexually involved, but practically, he knew it was nearly inevitable.

There was another moan, but it didn't sound at all amorous. He decided he had to investigate, even if it meant embarrassing his teammates, and strode into the room, calling out, "Major? Teal'c? This your room?" Then he turned the corner and stopped himself just in time to keep from stepping into the blood.

Carter's blood, he thought, dizzy for a moment from the quantity of it. The floor seemed to be painted in blood. He took a deep breath and smelled blood, and shit. Carter and Teal'c were lying side by side on the bed, a bed very similar to the one in his and Daniel's room. The pillows were neatly piled against a wall, next to their packs. They could have been lovers, lying together after having made love; Carter's head was rolled against Teal'c massive shoulder, and one of his arms lay across his stomach, his hand on her hip. There was a soft dripping sound, and Jack realized it was Carter's blood. One of her hands extended past the bed, and blood slowly dripped from it onto the stone floor.

For another three breaths, Jack stood there, feeling himself beginning to fall into shock. Then he stepped onto the blood, swallowing back bile, and went to them. There was no one else in the room. No weapons, no knives. Just Carter and Teal'c, slowly bleeding to death. Carter was a pale as the moon, and Teal'c a horrible grey. "Sam?" Jack whispered. "Teal'c? What happened?"

To his shock, Teal'c opened his eyes. His chest was barely moving. "Sorry," Jack thought he mouthed. He lay his hand over Teal'c's where it rested on Carter.

"It's okay, Teal'c. It'll be okay." Though how it would be okay, Jack didn't have the slightest idea. "I'm gonna get Danny, and then we'll get you home."

How? he kept asking himself as he raced through the hallways, unbearably aware of the red smudges his boots were leaving on the dusty white stones behind him. He'd flipped off the safety of the P90 and held it to his breast as if it were his teammates' lives. He would fucking kill anyone who looked at him.

He passed the opening onto the garden, where the clean white sheets stirred in the hot breeze, and the mournful song came to him again. Unclean, he thought at that moment. This is all unclean. Then he found Daniel, still sitting quietly at the king's feet, blessedly safe, blessedly untouched.

Jack pointed the P90 directly at the king, not letting Daniel get in his way. "Daniel. Stand up and get back."

"Jack! What's wrong?"

"Get behind me. Now!" Daniel's face went white, but he obeyed. "Now you ask this son of a bitch what he had done to Carter and Teal'c." When Daniel started to question him, he shouted, "Ask him, goddamn you!"

Daniel stood close to Jack, one hand on the small of his back. His hand was warm and comforting. The king calmly explained something to Daniel, and Jack felt his hand begin to tremble. "Oh, god," he exhaled. "Jack."

"What d'he say?"

"I don't understand. He had to kill them. He was going to kill you, too. We came on the high holy day of Nin-makh. We were a sign to water the fields with blood and plant uh, seeds. Semen. Oh, Jack, are they really dead?" His voice was shaking.

"Not yet, no thanks to these fuckers. But we gotta get them through the gate right now, Daniel, and they can't walk. Can we get a cart or something?"

"I'll try." The king watched them calmly. "He says I can't leave. That I will save this land. That Omaroca sent me to help them. He'll let you take them home, but that I have to stay."

"Tell him he can fuck himself, fertile his own goddamn fields. Is he gonna give us a cart, something to get them back?"

"Yes, yeah." The king said something to one of the women near him; she nodded and left. "He sent her to arrange for one. Please, Jack, let's go. Let's go right now."

"Got that right." They backed up, Daniel twisting his hand in Jack's tee shirt. The halls were still empty; the king never moved, never ordered the guards after them. The last thing Jack saw of him was his sad, still face as he watched Daniel leaving him.

They followed Jack's bloody footsteps, detouring to get their packs. As Jack clipped Daniel's onto him, he said, "It's really bad, Danny. Really bad. Sam might already be dead." Daniel moaned, his face pained. "I need you to be calm, okay? Just help me get them home." Daniel nodded, and Jack saw he was sweating. Going into shock, too. Well, that made two of them. "We'll puke later, okay?" That made Daniel smile, a little. Jack lightly slapped his face. "Come on, Danny. Let's go home."

But when they reached Carter and Teal'c's doorway, Jack hesitated again. He didn't want to see them. He didn't want to know if they were dead. He didn't want any of this. Daniel crowded into him, and he slid his arm around Daniel's waist, below his heavy pack. They walked into the room together. Daniel cried out wordlessly at the sight, but ran to the bed and knelt, right in Carter's blood. "Sam, Sam," he whispered, but she never moved. He cricked his neck back to look at Jack, who went to the open window.

"Okay. There's a couple people and two animals like donkeys pulling a cart. Now, we're gonna get them on the cart and then cover them with these curtains, okay?" Daniel nodded, and Jack jerked sharply on the fabric; it fell into his hands like water. "Right out that fucking Gate of Ishtar and back to the stargate, then home. Piece a cake, right?" Daniel nodded again, and then went to work.

They bound Carter's and Teal'c's wrists and ankles, where they'd been neatly opened. Then Jack gently lifted her head and shoulders, and Daniel took her feet. It was hard work negotiating the steps down into the garden and to the cart, but they managed. Jack had the curtains wound around his neck like an elaborate scarf, and they covered her body with it. He lingered a few seconds, letting his hand stroke her hair, still sweaty and crisp with sand from their hike in, soaked with her own blood, and then returned to muscle Teal'c out as well. Jack was gasping for breath when they finally deposited him in the cart, and Daniel looked as though he'd have to ride out, too. Then Daniel ran back inside for their packs, and brought several pillows, too, that he used to brace them.

"Oh, god, Jack," was all he said when he returned, and Jack knew he'd finally noticed that the spreads on the bed were saturated with their friends' blood. Both men were covered in blood, so Jack pulled Daniel to the fountain and began washing his hands and face. Daniel started to cry, but stopped himself. Soaking wet, they left Babylon.

The two women helped them silently, leading the donkeys through the complex of gardens to a back road and then finally to the procession. They stayed with SG-1 all the way to the Gate of Ishtar, which had been opened. They saw no other people, not even a bird; nothing moved in the oppressive heat of the late afternoon. The sky, Jack noticed, was glowing pale gold and red near the horizon; a storm brewing, he assumed. He didn't care. He just needed to get his people home.

The women didn't leave the city with them. They stepped aside and let Jack take the reins of the donkeys. He supposed he'd have to bring them through the stargate with them, and nearly laughed at the thought of bringing donkeys to General Hammond. Then Daniel's icy hand brushed his, and he knew he had to focus on the moment.

"Can you remember where we got onto this road? Will you recognize it when you see it?" he asked Daniel, more to get him talking than anything else.

"I think so," he whispered.

"Make sure they're protected from the sun. Then come tell me," he ordered, and Daniel obediently trotted to the cart and fussed over them. Jack heard him crying again, just for a minute, and then he was back.

"It's as good as I can do it, Jack."

"Then it's fine. Keep your eyes open, Daniel. Don't wanna miss the cut-off."

"Should I give them water?"

Jack shook his head. "Shouldn't give unconscious people anything to drink. They might aspirate it and drown."

Daniel inhaled sharply, and dropped his head. Jack said, "You could splash a little water on their faces, though. That might help." Grateful to do anything, Daniel again trotted to the back of the cart.

Although the trip back to the stargate was much shorter than the trip into the city, it seemed interminable to Jack. He was pushing himself and Daniel; both were sweating and panting, but the donkey-like creatures must've evolved in this heat. They soon found where they'd scrabbled down onto the road, only hours earlier that same day. For a moment, they stared at the hill, and then Jack walked in front of the donkeys, grabbed their reins, and told them, "Come on, kids. We've got a job to do." Daniel pushed the cart, staring into Carter and Teal'c's empty faces, while Jack walked backwards, urging the animals up and on.

He grew to like the beasts; they were sturdy and hard workers. Jack and Jill he named them, trying to catch Daniel's attention. Soon they were on level ground again, and Jack spotted their tracks, still fresh. "Come here, Daniel," he called, and Daniel gratefully came to him. "They're as okay as they're gonna be till we get them into the infirmary. Nothing you can do but hang on, okay?"

Daniel nodded, but turned his head away. "Can you see the stargate?" he finally asked.

"Not yet. And put your hat on; I told you it was too hot to wear that bandanna."

Daniel pulled the bandanna off his sweat-soaked head, wiping his face as he did. When he had the hat's strap fastened around his throat, he said, "It's my fault, Jack."

Here we go, Jack thought tiredly. "How so?"

"I agreed that we should split up. I thought they were okay. That we'd be okay."

"Daniel. I'm the CO, not you. I gave the approval. You don't have that authority." He said that sharply, and glanced at Daniel, but his face was still turned away. "And it's the fault of that asshole king, and his asshole religion. Not yours."

"I'm the cultural liaison. You rely on me to give you the information to make those decisions. I gave you bad information. I got them, if they." Jack heard Daniel's throat close.

"Daniel. We don't have time for this. I want you to look at me. Look at me, Daniel." Reluctantly, Daniel turned his head. Jack saw he'd been crying. "It is not your fault. As your supervisory officer and as your friend, I'm telling you: it is not your fault. You are not to tear yourself up over this. Focus on getting Carter and Teal'c home, and then helping them recover."

He stared sternly at Daniel, but from his white face and dilated eyes, Jack knew he was deep in the throes of some self-inflicted guilt trip that would last the rest of their lives, or until Jack found some way to grant him absolution.

Shit.

But he showed nothing of this, using his Pissed-off Commanding Officer face that worked so very well on most of earth's population and a good number of other worlds as well. But not on Daniel. He simply sniffed and nodded, then tugged on the reins.

"Stargate," Jack said thirty minutes later. He refused to let himself look in the cart; he didn't want to know if he was bringing home his friends, or their bodies. He just wanted them home, under Doctor Frasier's care, and he wanted a cold shower, and then some form of oblivion. He felt dizzy from heat and dehydration, and he knew Daniel had to be in the same bad shape.

Daniel tugged on the reins again, and they plowed on through the sandy soil. The sun was sinking and the sky darkening, the storm to their right growing a deeper purple as evening fell. Sunlight gleamed off the gate before them, and they trudged tiredly on, sweating. Jack knew they should stop and drink, but he couldn't bear to be on this filthy planet a second longer than they had to.

"Dial us home, Daniel," he finally said, and Daniel sprinted ahead, slapping the glyphs on the DHD as quickly as if he were being targeted by staff weapons. There was that nanosecond of silence that always chilled Jack's heart, as if the gate wouldn't open, and then the wormhole whooshed into existence. Daniel ran back, and together they urged the frightened animals toward the shimmering event horizon. One began to bray, an urgent, terrified sound; Daniel pulled out his stained bandanna and wrapped it around its eyes, speaking soothingly to it. Jack watched with pride as he calmed both animals. They paused again, and then made one final effort, forcing their way up the sand-covered steps, Daniel again dropping back to push the cart, humping against it with his shoulder in a way that Jack knew would hurt tomorrow.

And then they were spinning home through the frigid silence of impossible distance traveled impossibly fast, and he fell down the ramp, still clinging to the donkey's reins. Daniel was yelling as he came through the event horizon, "We need a medical team *now*!" Jack pulled himself to his feet and petted the frightened animals, pulling the bandanna away and reminding himself to discard it as soon as possible.

And all was chaos around him, the donkeys braying, the airmen shouting, Sergeant Siler taking charge of the animals, General Hammond rushing to Daniel's side, relinquishing him instantly into the arms of a medical team, and the look on Janet Frasier's face when she peered into the cart. Jack noticed that blood was dripping from the back of the cart. They must have left drops throughout the entire wormhole, like macabre breadcrumbs left to trace their way through the galaxy.

He felt hot and cold all at once, a little dizzy and light-headed, as if he'd stood up too quickly. The noisy room was distanced, and the lights dimmed, and Jack realized he was passing out into the arms of a startled airman. "Danny," he heard himself say, and then a buzzing darkness overtook him. Must be the storm, he thought; it came through the wormhole with us.

When he woke, he was in a bed in the infirmary, listening to people speak in that falsely-calm tone that meant terrible things were happening. He shut his eyes again, wishing vainly for unconsciousness, and then remembered Daniel. Whom he'd left behind, however unwillingly, to deal with the mess from Planet Boring. He sighed and opened his eyes. His mouth tasted like sand, and not very clean sand. He was as far from peachy as he could possibly be.

He turned his head, looking for water, and saw Daniel in the bed next to his, peering at him near-sightedly. He looked awful: streaked with blood and dirt, with dried tear-tracks down his face. Jack grabbed the cool aluminum rails and pulled himself upright, waited for the room to stop spinning, and then swung his legs over the edge. Thank god he wasn't in one of those stupid gowns with the back open for all to see, although that probably meant the infirmary staff had been too busy with Carter and Teal'c, and suddenly he desperately wished for the embarrassment and inconvenience of his ass hanging out for all the nurses to see.

But he pushed that thought aside and staggered to Daniel's bed, half collapsing on top of it. "Shove over," he said, and pulled himself onto it. Daniel was trembling. "What's going on?"

"They're dead, they're dead," he chanted, and Jack realized he'd been whispering those words for a long, long time.

"Stop it, Daniel," he said sharply, and put his hand on Daniel's shoulder, shaking him gently. "Did the doctor tell you that?" Daniel shook his head no. "Would there be all that noise for a couple of corpses?" His harsh choice of words shocked him, and he instantly regretted them, but they also shocked Daniel, whose eyes suddenly focused on Jack.

"Jack," he whispered, and Jack knew he'd just realized he was there.

"Hey, Danny. It's okay. Honest." Daniel closed his eyes, and tears fell from beneath his lashes. Jack remembered comforting Charlie after the loss of an important game, how he'd cried, too, and been embarrassed by his tears and the depth of his feelings. "It's okay," he said again and, sending a prayer for privacy to whatever gods might really exist in his strange galaxy, hugged Daniel to his chest. Daniel didn't sob; he just lay there, quiescent and tense. When Jack felt the muscles of Daniel's body begin to relax, he rolled back a little. "Listen to them, Daniel. They're saving them. Don't you know that?"

Daniel nodded, and wiped his nose. "Sorry," he said.

"Don't tell anyone I hugged you." And then he hugged Daniel again, even tighter, happy beyond words that at least he was all right.

They lay together for a while longer, and then Jack slowly sat up again. He found a pitcher of water next to Daniel's bed, and insisted Daniel get a glass of it down before drinking the rest of it himself. "When Carter and Teal'c are okay, Frasier's gonna be pissed at us for getting dehydrated, so let's use this time to tank up, okay?" He climbed out of Daniel's bed and found his own pitcher, and they split it. By the time they'd finished, Jack was feeling much stronger, and Daniel was sitting up in bed, wiping his face with a corner of the sheet he'd dampened.

"Colonel." He spun, dizzy for an instant again, to find General Hammond looking worriedly at them. "How's our boy?"

"He'll be fine. How are Carter and Teal'c?" Jack noticed that Daniel's hands gripped the sheet more tightly, and he began to twist it. Without bothering with what Hammond might think, he put his hand over Daniel's and stilled them.

"I don't know, Colonel. Doctor Frasier has been too busy to update me on their condition. I know they're critical, and that some specialist is being flown in. Everyone on base has given blood."

"They're alive?" Daniel asked in disbelief.

Hammond seemed to understand. "Oh, yes, son. They're alive." He studied Daniel closely. "You rest now. You don't want to collapse and give Doctor Frasier even more work, do you?"

Daniel shook his head and obediently lay back down. Jack smoothed the sheet over him, looking at his filthy hair and face. He glanced at Hammond, whose kind face was creased with concern for SG-1, and then said to Daniel, "I'll be right back." He found the linen closet and fetched a towel and washcloth, which he wet thoroughly with warm water. Hammond smiled sadly at him when he returned, nodding as he watched Jack wash Daniel's face, scrubbing at the blood on his neck. His hands were bloody, too, so he washed them as well, while Daniel lay still, staring unseeingly up at him.

When he gently lay Daniel's hands back down, tucking them under the sheet, the general tapped his shoulder and they stepped aside. "Doctor Jackson told me a little about what happened, Colonel. You two did a helluva job, under nearly impossible conditions. I have enough information to prepare a preliminary report. We'll hold off the official debriefing until Doctor Frasier releases you."

Jack nodded, and Hammond stared intently into his face before saying, "You need to rest, Jack," and leaving him to his thoughts. He felt both guilty that he'd left Daniel to report back to Hammond, and relieved that the debriefing was postponed. He wasn't ready to relive the last hours on Planet Boring.

Hours later, Jack was bored and getting hungry, and feeling guilty about both things. He shouldn't feel this way when his teammates were so ill. The commotion hadn't died down yet, and he was no longer sure that bode well. And still no one had come to check up on him and Daniel, and in Frasier's infirmary, that really wasn't right. He stayed near Daniel, who seemed to be sleeping, and wished he could just leave. Go home. Have a beer. Not think about today.

At last, he risked leaving Daniel and made his way into Janet's office, where he used the phone to call the commissary and have them send down some food. When they learned he was in the infirmary, he had a quiet argument, but he'd worked hard to acquire his reputation, and soon several kinds of sandwiches were on their way down to them.

When he returned to Daniel's bedside, he still seemed asleep, so this time Jack followed voices that led him to two bays full of doctors and nurses and equipment. He saw Janet and then he knew things weren't good for his friends. She was pale and quiet, gesturing when she wanted something but not barking out orders. He wanted desperately to talk to her, or anybody, but went out to the hallway to intercept the food and brought it straight to Daniel.

"Playin' possum, Daniel?"

After a few seconds, Daniel opened his eyes. "I'm not hungry, Jack."

"Too bad. You're gonna eat a sandwich if I have to chew it for you." Daniel screwed up his face in distaste, as Jack had hoped, and began to struggle to sit up. "We got turkey, roast beef, and I think this is ham, but we better not risk it."

"Turkey." Jack hopped back on Daniel's bed, dangling his long legs over the side, and they ate in a silent camaraderie of shared fears and reluctantly-admitted hunger. Daniel had a little more than half of a sandwich down when he spoke again. "Do you know what's happening?"

He shook his head. "Naw. They're all too busy. They're still alive, though." He looked at Daniel. "They've got the best medical care this earth can provide, Daniel. It's been hours and they're still working. So we can relax, okay?"

Daniel said in the sulky way that often made Jack want to smack him, "No, Jack. It isn't okay. If it were okay, Janet would be in here yelling at you for eating without her permission."

He was right, of course, but Jack wasn't going to admit it. "It's always good to get one over on her."

But Daniel refused to be diverted. "What did they do to them, Jack? I've never seen so much blood." He looked at the last bit of his sandwich, and put it back on the tray next to the bed, then wiped his hands on the towel Jack had left earlier.

Jack put his own sandwich down, no longer hungry. "Somebody cut the veins in their wrists and ankles, Daniel. Does that mean anything, in the context of that culture?"

Daniel shook his head slowly, looking perplexed. "Nebuchadnezzar said it was to fertilize the fields. Symbolically, I guess, since they weren't in a field. Jack," he looked up suddenly. "If you hadn't insisted on coming with me, they would've killed you." He looked horrified, and Jack knew he was right. He wasn't lying in another surgical bay only because of Carter's and Daniel's stubbornness. "Because I'm Daniel. Beloved of Nebuchadnezzar, he said. Because of me."

"No, Daniel. Because of your name. What if your folks had named you Bart? Or Jonathan? Or Tony? It was just a weird coincidence, a, a galactic coincidence. Not because of you." But Daniel's eyes reflected only his horror, and Jack knew he'd failed. Only Carter and Teal'c could remove that look from his eyes.

Jack knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what, and he wasn't sure he had the energy to, anyway. Instead, he lay down again in his own bed, trying not to listen to the voices and clank of machinery a few doors down from them, trying not to remember the blood dripping from Carter's hand, or soaking into the fabric bunched under Teal'c as he lay on that bed of death.

He slept, finally, fitfully. It was dark and quiet when he finally came awake. Daniel lay still; Jack couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. He climbed out of bed and found the bathroom, then wandered into Janet's office. She was asleep, her head on her desk. He stood in the doorway for a while, and then left her there, unwilling to disturb her exhausted rest.

A nurse, Armen, he thought, was checking a line leading into Carter's hand when he finally found them. "How is she?" he whispered. Armen jumped, and whispered, "You should be in bed, Colonel. You're suffering from exhaustion and dehydration and shock."

"I've slept all day. How is she?"

Armen looked at her, silent and motionless under the light sheet. "Not good, sir. She'd lost a lot of blood, and had been drugged with something. I guess that's how they did it." He looked up at Jack. "I'm sorry, sir. But it's still touch-and-go for them both."

Jack nodded, and rubbed both hands in his hair. "Teal'c?"

"Better, of course, because of his symbiote. But still in a bad way. He's over here," and he led Jack through the silent infirmary to another bed. Jack stood next to Teal'c's bed and stared down at him. He didn't look grey, at least, which Jack was pretty sure was a good thing. But his color was still off, and he, too, lay unmoving. His cheek, when Jack lightly touched it, was cold. As cold as the grave.

"When will we know if, if they're really okay?"

Armen shrugged. "A couple days. Maybe as soon as tomorrow, if an infection doesn't set in at one of the wounds. Or shock. It's hard to know, sir. You should rest and ask Doctor Frasier in the morning."

"I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir. Is there anything you need?"

"Just for my teammates to get better. Fast."

"Yes, sir."

Daniel's eyes were open when he returned to his bed. "Go to sleep, Daniel," he said, as he had so many times before, on so many planets.

"How are they, Jack?"

"Okay," he lied cheerfully. "Docs'll know more in the morning, but right now, looks good."

Daniel studied him in the dim light, and then rolled onto his back. "You're a shitty liar about some things," was all he said. Jack almost hugged him again, but he figured he'd done enough of that for one day, and climbed back into bed.

The next time he woke, Frasier was taking his pulse. "Hey, doc," he said hoarsely. "Can't keep your hands off me, can you."

"It's difficult," she said dryly, but he could tell she was pleased.

"How's Daniel?"

Her pleased air dropped from her. "Not good, Colonel. Physically, he's exhausted and still a little dehydrated, but emotionally . . . Jack. If you can help him." He nodded. Nothing to say to that.

He watched as Janet smoothed Daniel's dirty hair back from his face and took his pulse, then listened to his chest. "Daniel," she said very softly. "I know you're awake. I need to check your pupils, okay?"

Daniel slowly opened his eyes. "How are they?" he whispered, and Jack held his breath.

"It's too early to tell, Daniel. Their bodies nearly shut down from shock and loss of blood. The heat and dirt didn't help, either. But you and the colonel got them safely back; the rest is up to me. You did a great job, an amazing job. You just rest now, and let me do my part. Okay?"

Daniel stared at her, and then closed his eyes again. He turned his head away when she again asked to check his pupils. Jack thought about intervening, but remained quiet when Frasier didn't push it. He watched as she put her hand near his face, as if to brush his hair back again, and then pull it back. She looked over her shoulder at Jack, and he wanted to cry at the despairing look on her face. He knew that look. Exhaustion, depression, great fear, and a dull anger that the world could be so cruel. He nodded at her, and she quietly left the two men in the dark room. Jack went back to sleep.

The next day they were allowed up, to bathe and dress. Janet apologized for not having taken better care of them, but Jack shushed her, and her words trailed off. Daniel moved like an old man, and Jack remembered him bashing at the back of the cart with his shoulder, trying to manhandle it up the stairs to the stargate. The people they met en route to the showers stepped aside, as if they were honored guests or celebrities, and conversations died when their presence was recognized. Altogether, it was a miserable experience and Jack was happy to find no one sharing the locker room with them. He began stripping with pleasure, watching little showers of sand fall from his clothes, which he tossed to the floor. He never wanted to see any of it again.

Daniel sat on the bench, bent over as if he had a stomach ache. Jack watched him, then sat next to him, untying his boots. "You gonna shower?" he asked, trying to sound casual. Daniel turned away from him, wrapping his arms around himself. "After we shower, let's go to the commissary. I'm hungry again. Even jello sounds good right now. You need to --"

"I need you to leave me alone," Daniel said coldly, turning even further away

Jack let go of his bootlaces and sat up. At last, he said, "No, Danny." He pulled Daniel around, bullying him into turning until he faced Jack, and cupped a hand around Daniel's neck. "That's not what you need. You need me to forgive you."

Daniel stared at him; sitting, they were the same height, Jack noticed, and then Daniel began to sob. Jack held onto him as tightly as he could, and they both hung on, just hung on. Jack pushed his face into Daniel's neck and breathed deeply, smelling Daniel's sweat and Carter's and Teal'c's blood. When he felt a bit more in control of himself, he leaned back and forced Daniel to look at him.

"I forgive you." Daniel began to cry again, horrible wrenching sounds, as if he were choking. His entire body was wracked by the force of his misery, and Jack pulled him back into an embrace, rocking gently. "I forgive you," he whispered, and then again, "I forgive you. It wasn't your fault. Forgive yourself, Danny. For me, for Carter, for Teal'c: forgive yourself." He held on tight for long terrible minutes, Daniel's sobs echoing in the empty locker room.

When at last Daniel began to quiet, Jack sighed with relief. "Listen, Daniel. We lose them and we're all we've got. You understand? We have to be here for each other. Don't leave me, Daniel. Not now." Daniel's face was wet with tears, and his nose was running a little. He sniffed and nodded, and Jack leaned forward to kiss his hair, his swollen eyes, his damp face.

Daniel made a slight surprised sound and opened his eyes wide. "Jack?" he asked, sounding bewildered.

Jack thought for a moment about what he'd done, and then shrugged. "Well. Yeah." He looked at Daniel. "Okay?"

Daniel stared at him for a moment, and then relaxed back into Jack's arms and into his kisses. He wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and shoulders, holding desperately on. They sat in the middle of the locker room, embracing tightly, until some reasonable part of Jack's mind kicked in and pointed out the dangers of this activity here and now. He put a hand onto Daniel's face, and gently kissed him again on his dirty cheek. "We need to shower," he said softly. "And then go to the commissary. And then we'll wait on Carter and Teal'c, okay? And when they're better, we'll go home. Okay, Danny? Will you come home with me?"

Daniel nodded, spilling more tears from his eyes, but he wasn't trembling any more, and the tension in his body was gone. Jack thought he should sleep now, but he was so filthy, and as long as he had Carter's and Teal'c's blood on him, he wouldn't really rest, so he bullied him into stripping, helping him toss the clothing into a corner.

At last they were clean and dressed. Daniel's eyes were still red, but he looked more like the pissy archaeologist that Jack had grown to love. He put his arm around Daniel's shoulders as he had a million times before, and led him from the locker room. He felt as if he were leaving more than their clothes behind. They were leaving part of their life back there, to be discarded, while they tried on these new clothes, this new life. Daniel was quiet, but a different quiet than the last two days.

They met General Hammond in the commissary, who was delighted to see them up and about. "Colonel, Doctor Jackson," he greeted them warmly, and to Jack's surprise, shook their hands. "Thank god you're all right," he told them, and Daniel smiled shyly. "You two have something hot to eat, and then come see me. No formal briefing. Just a visit. I might have a bottle of something that would interest you. For medicinal purposes only, you understand."

"Yes, Doctor Hammond," Jack said, and Daniel nodded at him.

This time, they weren't invisible. Whatever they'd shed in the locker room had included the invisibility of their trip to the showers. People smiled up at them as they wound their way past tables and booths, and Jack swore the servers piled the mashed potatoes higher and poured the gravy more generously than in past visits. Even the food tasted better, he thought, as he shoveled it in. God, he was hungry. And Daniel ate, too, he was happy to see.

The bottle of medicine Hammond had hidden away for them was fifteen-year-old Laphroaig, which Jack had never tasted before and swore he'd splurge on a bottle for himself, however much it might cost, as soon as he got off base. Daniel nodded wisely, though; he obviously knew the whisky and appreciated it as much as Hammond and now Jack did.

To Jack's surprise, the general really didn't try to debrief them, even informally. He just sat and sipped his whisky, relaxed back in his chair. Daniel slowly relaxed, too. The silence was as soothing as the whisky, and Jack felt a rush of gratitude toward Hammond for his surprising sensitivity. He was a good CO, Jack thought not for the first time. After a while, Hammond leaned forward and topped up Daniel's glass. "You like this," he said, and Daniel nodded.

"Drank it in Egypt. One of my mentors was a Scotsman, and he always had a bottle or two hidden away. He taught me a lot, including an appreciation of good whisky."

Hammond smiled, and nodded. "That's how I learned, too. A CO of mine who'd been stationed in Scotland. And that's how he learned."

After another long silence, Daniel sat his glass down, sat up straighter, and glanced at Jack. "General Hammond. Could I tell you what happened? I'd like to, to get that over."

Hammond nodded, staring into his glass. "Only if you want to, son. You've already given me an outline, and we'll have a formal debriefing tomorrow; it can wait till then."

"Maybe it can wait, but I'm not sure I can."

Hammond looked at Jack, who took a deep breath. "Colonel?"

"If Daniel wants to. You sure you're up for it?"

"Yeah. I wanna talk about this, Jack. I need to."

"Okay, Danny. Whatever you want."

Daniel picked up the glass of whisky again and took a quick sip. Then he did his usual good job of describing their off-world excursion. Not as succinct, perhaps, as Jack would like, but thorough. He'd been thinking about what they'd seen and had come up with a theory, confirming what he and Jack had assumed.

"So no Goa'uld, and no advanced technology," Hammond summed up when Daniel stopped speaking.

"No, sir. Nothing we can use. A dying culture, I think."

"I agree, sir," Jack said quietly. "The place was a dump. A freshly-cleaned, tidied-up dump. I think they were devoting so much energy to the religious ceremony because they know if some god or goddess doesn't intervene, they're gonna die."

"The land didn't look very arable. I didn't see any fields of crops. And there weren't enough people, did you notice that, Jack?"

"I wondered. It was a big city, and the only ones we saw were at that ceremony. A whole city fit into one temple."

"So you think what happened was an act of desperation?"

Well, that was the crux of it, Jack thought, carefully watching Daniel's face. He looked stricken, his pale face even paler in the dim light of Hammond's office. "Yes," he said at last, and looked at Jack. "It was an act of awful desperation. And bad luck, that my name is Daniel."

Bad luck, Jack thought. Now there's an understatement. But he remained silent, just putting out a hand and resting it briefly on Daniel's shoulder, who looked gratefully at him.

After a while, Hammond said, "Every time one of SGC steps through the stargate, we take terrible risks. The odds are against us. We've had a lot of good luck, and we've had a lot of bad luck, Daniel. And we'll have more, of both. I know you take these things hard; you're not a military man, not trained to cope with the horrors of war. Nor would I want you to be cavalier about these things.

"But don't let it eat you alive, son. The world is a terrible place; we all know that. There's nothing we can do to change it. Just try not to let it change you. Will you do that?"

Daniel smiled bashfully, and nodded, ducking his head and sipping his whisky again. Jack looked gratefully at Hammond, and raised his glass slightly to him.

When they finished this round, Jack rose. "Thank you, General. I'm gonna take Daniel back to the infirmary now. Doctor Frasier suggested we spend one more night there. And we want to be near Major Carter and Teal'c."

Hammond stood, too, and Daniel followed suit. "Of course, Colonel. Doctor Jackson, I'm giving you an order. I want you to get a good night's sleep. We'll meet again at oh-nine-hundred, for the formal debriefing. Until then."

Daniel said, "Yes, sir," and turned to Jack, who smiled at him.

"Come on, Daniel."

They made their way through the emptying halls back to the infirmary. It was late in the evening; General Hammond had pulled a long day, just to have a few moments alone with Jack and Daniel, and Jack appreciated that more than he knew how to express. He thought Daniel understood it, too.

They found Janet standing near Carter's hospital bed, reading her chart and studying the readings of the equipment surrounding her. She looked up and came out into the hallway to stand with them.

"Teal'c is doing much better," she said, and Jack heard Daniel sigh in relief. "His symbiote is doing its usual extraordinary job. Along with the blood transfusions and saline drips and some broad spectrum antibiotic treatment, there's nothing else we can do for him but wait. But he was conscious briefly this afternoon, and is sleeping now."

"And Sam?" Daniel asked fearfully. Jack put his hand on Daniel's elbow.

"Sam has a much smaller body mass than Teal'c, which works against her." Daniel made a soft distressed sound. "But she's recovering, Daniel. Don't mourn her yet. I'm doing everything I can for her. You know that. There's no sign of infection, and we're keeping her hydrated.

"She's still in a coma, but that's a good thing right now. Her body is taking a time-out to recover from the trauma. When she's better, she'll wake up. I'll call you the minute that happens."

"Can we see them?" Jack asked. "We'll be quiet."

Janet nodded, and led them to Carter's bed. To Jack, she did look better, even if she was in a coma. Her skin was pinkish again, and someone had washed her hair so it no longer stuck out in bloody spikes. Daniel carefully cupped her hand in his, and Jack saw his shoulders relax. "She's warm," he said, and Janet nodded.

"She's much better, Daniel," she said again. After a moment, they left to find Teal'c sleeping peacefully, even snoring a bit, which Jack found simultaneously funny and touching. Daniel took his hand, too, but didn't speak.

Janet shooed them to their own beds, and then drew the curtains around them. "Good night," she said kindly. "Tomorrow you can go home."

When she'd gone, Jack turned to Daniel and opened his arms. "Ya hear that, Danny? Tomorrow we go home. You still comin' home with me?"

Daniel smiled shyly at him. "Sure you still want me to?"

Jack took a step closer and pulled him into a hug. "I think so," he whispered. "I'm pretty damn sure, in fact." Daniel leaned back, trusting Jack's arms to hold him upright, and looked into his face. They stared into each other's eyes and then Daniel closed his and rested his head against Jack's shoulder. Jack pressed him nearer, unbearably moved by Daniel's gesture.

At last, they released each other, and undressed silently before climbing into their solitary beds. Jack dropped his arm over the side and reached out toward Daniel, who did the same, and for a moment they held hands, stretching out toward each other. "Good night," Jack finally said, and Daniel nodded.


End file.
